NEWS AND INFO - Mission and History

Mission

The mission of the Center for Basque Studies is to further Basque-related study by conducting, facilitating, and disseminating original Basque-related research in the humanities and social sciences, in cooperation with appropriate academic departments at UNR, as well as at other American and foreign universities, by the creation of undergraduate and graduate curricula at the University of Nevada, Reno (including the creation of distance education courses) and by collaboration with the University Studies Abroad Consortium to provide a quality educational experience for students desirous of studying and living in the Basque Country of Europe.

History

“During the darkest day of the Franco era when we were denied our language, our culture, and our identity, we were consoled by the knowledge that an American university in Nevada had lit one small candle in the night.” —Basque President Jose Antonio Ardanza

In 1967 a small Basque studies program was established within the social sciences division of the Great Basin Institute. Originally established to study the Basques as an integral part of the sheep industry that had so influenced the development of the Intermountain West, over time (and since incorporated officially into the University of Nevada, Reno), the Center for Basque Studies has become the leading research and educational institute of its kind outside the European Basque homeland.